Digitalis is a perennial plantain of the plantain family. They call it that because of the shape of flowers that look like miniature thimbles. In the scientific community, the name "digitalis" is more common. Homeland plants are the Mediterranean, North Africa and West Asia. Thick lush digitalis inflorescences can be used to effectively decorate the garden. At the same time, the plant is medicinal, but in large quantities, digitalis juice is a poison. This should be taken into account when designing a garden in which there are small children and animals.
Plant description
Digitalis is a perennial or biennial herbaceous plant with upright stems 30-150 cm high. Almost no lateral processes are formed. Petiole leaves of an oval or lanceolate form grow on the shoots again and form a numerous outlet near the ground. The embossed sheet plate is painted dark green. Its length is 10-30 cm, and its width is 6-11 cm. The leaf is shiny above, covered with bulges between the veins. The back side due to a short, thick pile seems silvery or gray.
In June-August, the top of the stem is decorated with a dense inflorescence in the shape of a brush. On it, close to each other, on short, flexible pedicels, bell-shaped flowers bloom. A narrow cup with small curved edges can be painted in purple, pink, white, yellow or red. Often the pharynx is covered with small dots. Inside are stamens with thickened anthers and an ovary.
After pollination seed boxes with very small light brown seeds ripen. In 1 g of seed, there are up to 10,000 units.
Species and decorative varieties
In the genus digitalis, according to international classification, there are 11 species of plants.
Digitalis is rusty. The variety has high decorative properties. It forms a slender shoot 70-120 cm high, covered with oblong or lanceolate bare foliage. Long (7-15 cm), dense inflorescences consist of bells with a wavy edge. A calyx up to 4 cm long has two-lipped tips that resemble orchid flowers. The lower lapel is clearly visible on them. The petals are painted in a light yellow shade with a pink pattern on the lip and a brown-gold pattern inside the pharynx. Flowering occurs in June-August.
Digitalis is purple (purple). A biennial, rarely a perennial plant up to 1.5 m high consists of erect, low-branched stems. The lower part of the leaves and shoots are densely pubescent. Petiole leaves are oval. In June, a unilateral or pyramidal inflorescence in the form of a brush blossoms. It consists of asymmetric flowers 8-13 cm long. Petals of purple or white at the base are covered with darker dots. Varieties:
- Alba - snow-white petals with small dark purple dots or without them at all;
- Mirabelle - blossoms dense, multi-flowered inflorescences of cream or salmon-pink color.
Digitalis is large-flowered. Stems 40-120 cm tall sometimes form a shrub. They are covered with hard glandular villi. Along the entire length of the shoot, lanceolate leafless foliage grows in a light green hue. The leaves have a long, sharp edge. The leaves grow 7–25 cm long and 2–7 cm wide. In June, a loose brush 6–25 cm long blooms at the top of the shoot. On it on the drooping pedicles are 3-4 cm long tubular flowers. The corolla edges are divided on 5 bent petals. The flowers are painted in gray-yellow tones, small brown dots are located inside.
Digitalis is woolly. A perennial plant 30-80 cm high forms a very dense rosette of lanceolate leaves of a bluish-green color near the ground. Foliage along the edge of the underside is covered with long cilia. In July, the pyramidal brush opens, on which two-lipped calyxes grow densely to each other. Petals and bracts are also covered with a silvery felt pile. The length of the tube is 2-3 cm. Bent petals up to 1 cm long extend beyond its edges. The flowers are painted in cream or white, and closer to the center they are covered with a thick yellow-brown vein pattern.
There are many more interspecies perennial digitalis hybrids for growing in the garden. The most popular among them are:
- Tapsi - gray-green leaves adorn straight stems 40-80 cm high, on top of them are thick brushes with large bells of pink or raspberry color;
- Merton - a plant 60-80 cm tall is decorated with bright green long leaves; it blooms in May with large pink-purple flowers.
Digitalis reproduction
Most often, digitalis is grown from seeds. They can be sown immediately in open ground or seedlings. In the southern regions, in the second half of spring, seeds are sown in the garden, in holes at a distance of 15-20 cm. They are buried by 5-10 mm. In case of cooling, the crops are covered with non-woven material.
Since seedlings develop slowly, it is advisable to grow seedlings. Before planting, the seeds are soaked for a week in warm water, which is changed 2-3 times a day. Crops are made in boxes with a sand-peat mixture. Seeds are distributed on the surface of the soil and pressed into a plank. The container is covered with glass and kept at room temperature and ambient light. After 10-15 days, the first shoots appear. At first, their development is very slow. When a pair of true leaves is formed, picking is done in separate disposable cups or in another box with a distance between plants of about 7-10 cm.
For vegetative reproduction of digitalis, basal shoots are used. It is possible to stimulate its appearance by cutting off a withered inflorescence. Soon the lateral processes will develop. A sprout with 7-8 leaves and its own root is carefully dug up and planted in a new place. Already in September, it will adapt and will be ready for wintering, and in spring will release the first flowers.
Outdoor planting and care
Digitalis seedlings are planted in open ground at the end of May, when frosts have definitely passed and the soil has warmed up well. It is best to plant the flower in open, sunny places or in slight shading. Areas under the crown of deciduous trees are not suitable. It will be too damp and not light enough, and in the fall, falling leaves will interfere with the normal development of the plant.
The soil for planting should be loose, fertile and without stagnation of moisture. Pre-dig the site and make compost or humus. A distance of 25-30 cm is maintained between individual plants in the garden. In order not to damage the rhizome, the transplant is carried out by the transhipment method. The digitalis perennial in the first year does not bloom, but forms a thick leafy rosette.
If the place for the plant is chosen correctly, care for it will be negligible. Digitalis needs to be watered regularly, but so that the water does not stagnate at the roots. The soil after irrigation is loosened, otherwise a dense crust will not allow air to freely penetrate to the roots and growth will slow down. You also need to remove weeds. Twice or thrice during the spring and summer, they are fed with liquid mineral complexes. They are poured into the soil at the roots.
In order for the flowers to maintain decorativeness, it is necessary to timely cut off wilted inflorescences. In autumn, long stems are shortened by half, leaving mainly basal foliage. The bare rhizomes are sprinkled with earth and cover the entire shoot with fallen leaves or spruce branches. In such conditions, digitalis winter well and can withstand even severe frosts.
Plants are resistant to diseases and pests. Only in rare cases, they suffer from attacks of aphids, moths and nematodes. With improper care, powdery mildew infection is possible. Correction of agricultural technology and insecticides (Iskra, Vitaros) will help to cope with all problems.
Digitalis in the garden
In landscape design, digitalis is used in single and group plantings in the middle of the lawn. Long inflorescences are planted in the background of flower beds. In tape landings, digitalis acts as a hedge during zoning of the territory. Plants can be a good background for stunted flowers. Successful partners in the flower garden for digitalis will be peonies, valerian, roses. Bright inflorescences are good against the background of conifers or decorative deciduous plants. Dwarf varieties adorn the curb, and when planting in containers - a veranda or balcony. Also, decorative varieties are used to make bright bouquets. Cut inflorescences will stand in a vase for more than a week.
The healing properties of digitalis
Traditional medicine has long recognized the effectiveness of digitalis-based drugs. They are used for heart failure and circulatory problems. The medicine with digitalis eliminates the attacks of atrial fibrillation, improves blood circulation to the muscles, and fights cardiosclerosis, tachycardia, hypertension and other diseases of the circulatory system. In addition, in folk medicine, a decoction of leaves is used to combat epilepsy, skin inflammation, fever, pain and bleeding.
Despite the significant medicinal properties, even a slight overdose causes severe poisoning, so it is advisable to buy ready-made drugs at the pharmacy and take them as prescribed by the doctor, and not prepare the drugs yourself and self-medicate.
